James Ennis

James Ennis was like the fifth Beatle on last season's Long Beach State basketball team, a back-beat junior in a Fab Four senior lineup led by lead slinger Casper Ware. Ennis, they say, was the quiet one as the 49ers swept through the Big West Conference regular season and won the league tournament on their way to the NCAA tournament. "It was fun playing for that group," Ennis said this week. "Everyone had a role. Mine was to be coachable and to be a good teammate. " Those days are over, as Ennis is now Long Beach's give-me-the-rock star.

The school with the funny nickname is 40 minutes from becoming no joke. UC Irvine had a great coach once in Bill Mulligan. The school has produced a roster of star players that includes Kevin Magee, Ben McDonald and Scott Brooks. The mighty Anteaters, however, have never needled their noses into an NCAA field. Irvine is now on that special brink after Friday night's 67-60 win over top-seeded Long Beach State at the Honda Center. The victory put the Anteaters into Saturday's Big West Tournament championship game against Pacific.

VS. LONG BEACH STATE Where: Galen Center. When: 6:30. On the air: TV: Pac-12 Networks; Radio: 830. Records: USC 1-0, Long Beach State 1-0. Update: Led by 19 points from senior forward James Ennis, the 49ers opened their season with a 75-65 win over North Alabama on Saturday. Long Beach State finished 25-9 last season and advanced to the NCAA tournament, but lost to New Mexico in its first game. USC won its opener against Coppin State on Friday, 87-73, with a balanced scoring effort, led by 17 points from guard Byron Wesley.

Top-seeded Long Beach State versus injury-ravaged Cal State Fullerton went just as you might expect a game with that billing would go. Fullerton's Titans were tenacious enough in Thursday night's opening round of the Big West Conference tournament. They just weren't deep enough. Long Beach withstood Fullerton's pluckiness and slow-it-down pace to emerge with a 75-66 victory at the Honda Center. "It was grind for us all game," Long Beach Coach Dan Monson said. The 49ers advance to Friday's 6:30 p.m. semifinal game against UC Irvine.

It has been an uneasy off-season for North Carolina Coach Roy Williams. He had surgery on both kidneys to have growths removed. No matter how hard he tried to be positive, Williams said "so many things" went through his mind. "My mother died of a kidney issue," he said. "It's not a simple thing. " Both of the growths were benign, and Friday night Williams and his 11th-ranked Tar Heels carried on at Long Beach State with a 78-63 victory. It was a pit stop for North Carolina on the way to the Maui Invitational, and the benefit for the 49ers was a soldout Pyramid with a record-setting crowd of 6,912.

at Long Beach State 75, UC Riverside 35: The balanced 49ers shot 53% and handed the Highlanders their seventh loss in a row. It was the fewest points Long Beach (16-9, 12-2 Big West) has given up since UC Irvine scored 26 in 1980. Tony Freeland scored 14 points and James Ennis had 12 for the first-place 49ers, who had a 31-19 halftime lead and closed the game with a 28-5 run. Riverside (5-20, 2-11) shot 24%. St. Mary's 61, at Loyola Marymount 50: The Gaels used an early 14-0 run to hand the Lions their 10th consecutive loss.

Top-seeded Long Beach State versus injury-ravaged Cal State Fullerton went just as you might expect a game with that billing would go. Fullerton's Titans were tenacious enough in Thursday night's opening round of the Big West Conference tournament. They just weren't deep enough. Long Beach withstood Fullerton's pluckiness and slow-it-down pace to emerge with a 75-66 victory at the Honda Center. "It was grind for us all game," Long Beach Coach Dan Monson said. The 49ers advance to Friday's 6:30 p.m. semifinal game against UC Irvine.

The school with the funny nickname is 40 minutes from becoming no joke. UC Irvine had a great coach once in Bill Mulligan. The school has produced a roster of star players that includes Kevin Magee, Ben McDonald and Scott Brooks. The mighty Anteaters, however, have never needled their noses into an NCAA field. Irvine is now on that special brink after Friday night's 67-60 win over top-seeded Long Beach State at the Honda Center. The victory put the Anteaters into Saturday's Big West Tournament championship game against Pacific.

at Long Beach State 75, Cal State Fullerton 61: The 49ers overcame an off night by Casper Ware to improve to 9-0 in Big West play. James Ennis scored 19 points and Larry Anderson had 16 for Long Beach (16-6 overall). The Titans (13-7, 5-3) got 20 points from Omondi Amoke and 16 from Isiah Umipig. at UC Irvine 65, UC Riverside 57: Derick Flowers scored 17 points and the Anteaters (8-13, 4-4 Big West) closed the game on an 18-6 run. Flowers scored 13 of his points in the second half, when Irvine made 16 of 20 free throws.

Portland, Ore. -- All that is missing is the black top. Long Beach State and New Mexico played at a pace, and at times the efficiency, of a pick-up game during their NCAA tournament game at the Rose Garden on Thursday. All that was missing was five guys on the sideline calling, “Next.” New Mexico's late 10-3 spurt gave the Lobos a 33-29 halftime lead. Both teams looked skittish to start the game. Long Beach turned the ball over on its first five possessions, then missed two shots on its sixth possession.

James Ennis was like the fifth Beatle on last season's Long Beach State basketball team, a back-beat junior in a Fab Four senior lineup led by lead slinger Casper Ware. Ennis, they say, was the quiet one as the 49ers swept through the Big West Conference regular season and won the league tournament on their way to the NCAA tournament. "It was fun playing for that group," Ennis said this week. "Everyone had a role. Mine was to be coachable and to be a good teammate. " Those days are over, as Ennis is now Long Beach's give-me-the-rock star.

at Long Beach State 75, UC Riverside 35: The balanced 49ers shot 53% and handed the Highlanders their seventh loss in a row. It was the fewest points Long Beach (16-9, 12-2 Big West) has given up since UC Irvine scored 26 in 1980. Tony Freeland scored 14 points and James Ennis had 12 for the first-place 49ers, who had a 31-19 halftime lead and closed the game with a 28-5 run. Riverside (5-20, 2-11) shot 24%. St. Mary's 61, at Loyola Marymount 50: The Gaels used an early 14-0 run to hand the Lions their 10th consecutive loss.

It has been an uneasy off-season for North Carolina Coach Roy Williams. He had surgery on both kidneys to have growths removed. No matter how hard he tried to be positive, Williams said "so many things" went through his mind. "My mother died of a kidney issue," he said. "It's not a simple thing. " Both of the growths were benign, and Friday night Williams and his 11th-ranked Tar Heels carried on at Long Beach State with a 78-63 victory. It was a pit stop for North Carolina on the way to the Maui Invitational, and the benefit for the 49ers was a soldout Pyramid with a record-setting crowd of 6,912.

VS. LONG BEACH STATE Where: Galen Center. When: 6:30. On the air: TV: Pac-12 Networks; Radio: 830. Records: USC 1-0, Long Beach State 1-0. Update: Led by 19 points from senior forward James Ennis, the 49ers opened their season with a 75-65 win over North Alabama on Saturday. Long Beach State finished 25-9 last season and advanced to the NCAA tournament, but lost to New Mexico in its first game. USC won its opener against Coppin State on Friday, 87-73, with a balanced scoring effort, led by 17 points from guard Byron Wesley.

at Long Beach State 75, Cal State Fullerton 61: The 49ers overcame an off night by Casper Ware to improve to 9-0 in Big West play. James Ennis scored 19 points and Larry Anderson had 16 for Long Beach (16-6 overall). The Titans (13-7, 5-3) got 20 points from Omondi Amoke and 16 from Isiah Umipig. at UC Irvine 65, UC Riverside 57: Derick Flowers scored 17 points and the Anteaters (8-13, 4-4 Big West) closed the game on an 18-6 run. Flowers scored 13 of his points in the second half, when Irvine made 16 of 20 free throws.

The Clippers had a big day Wednesday when they introduced Doc Rivers, who became the team's coach and senior vice president of basketball operations. The Clippers hope to have another big day Thursday during the NBA draft. They have a first-round pick at No. 25, a selection the Clippers hope will benefit the team. PHOTOS: Doc Rivers introduced as Clippers coach Gary Sacks, the Clippers' vice president of basketball operations, said they enter the draft looking for an athletic and defensive-minded wing player, or someone with a good outside shot who can help improve their bench.

Long Beach State got along fine playing its first game without senior guard Larry Anderson's 6-foot-5 frame, 14 points per game, defensive skills and leadership. In terms of a test, though, this was only a pop quiz. Top-seeded Long Beach, as expected, cruised past UC Davis, 80-46, in the first round of the Big West tournament Thursday at Honda Center Anderson sat out the game and is presumed out for the weekend after spraining his right knee in last weekend's loss to Cal State Fullerton.